


Good Touch

by Angelicat2



Series: Sheith Month 2019 [7]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Day 9-trapped, Flashbacks, Kissing, M/M, Making Out, Panic Attacks, Past Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Season/Series 02, Sheith Month 2019, Touch-Starved Keith (Voltron), Touch-Starved Shiro (Voltron), Trapped In A Closet, Worried Shiro (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-24 04:31:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19716268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelicat2/pseuds/Angelicat2
Summary: When they end up getting locked in a tiny closet together aboard a Galra ship, it not only triggers bad memories for Shiro but for Keith too. After that, the two work to like good touch again.





	Good Touch

Shiro woke up feeling hot and stuffy.

It was dark wherever he was, not much air. As he woke more, he moved his hand out, bumping into something solid only a few inches to all sides. He was enclosed in a small space, maybe a closet or a box or something. Already he could feel dread creep up his throat. 

He didn’t like small spaces. It reminded him of his cell, tight and dirty and smelling of blood and death and filth and-

Shiro took a stuttered breath in. He had to remain calm if he wanted to get out of here in one piece. Why was he in this place again? The answer was evading him, just on the tip of his brain. He remembered something about hiding from the Galra on one of their bases. It was chaotic, and he had rushed around the corner to go somewhere when the whole place shook like an earthquake had struck. Shiro had went flying into a small, open door. The last thing he remembered was a shout, landing on top of something, and blackness. 

Maybe the darkness had been part of that. Or maybe he had passed out?

A small groan pulled him back from his thoughts as something near him shifted. Hot breath flowed over his neck, making him shiver for a moment.

Someone was inside this room with him.

In fact, Shiro could feel them pressed right up to him. They didn’t have any other choice since the space was so tiny. Why the Galra had a random room unable to hold anything confused him, but the Black Paladin had given up understanding anything about the purple aliens at this point. For all he knew, it could have been a private area to jack off or something.

“Nhh,” Shiro’s attention snapped to the person against him. He could feel them right through certain parts of his suit, but some areas were tougher than others. So the person must have had armor on too.

Shiro lost his breath as he suddenly imagined the person being a Galra from the base. What would Shiro do? He couldn’t kill the person, not even sure he could get his arms up enough to attack the other, much less activate his prosthetic hand. And if that was the case, the other person probably couldn’t touch him either.

_”Champion! Champion! CHAMPION!”_

Shiro’s breath picked up, sending him whirling even though he had no ability to move. The cheers echoed in his head, making him remember visions of splattered blood and torn flesh. Of the vicious snarls of the watching Galra, eyes glowing with bloodlust clear in their iris-less eyes. Of a witch of gnarled hands and red marks bleeding down her cheeks, face hidden in a cloak. 

_“I made you stronger! This is how you repay me?!”_

Shiro flinched back, only to cry out when he had nowhere to go, bumping his head into the wall behind him. Tears raced to his eyes as he forced himself to take ragged breaths, holding them before releasing them. He couldn’t go into a flashback. He couldn’t. It could kill him and the other person. They’d run out of air and suffocate. 

He couldn’t do that to the team. He couldn’t let them find him only to see a corpse. He had survived the Arena and this far in the war, he could do it. He had to.

He couldn’t...wouldn’t let them see it. Wouldn’t hurt Keith like that and-

Keith!

Shiro nearly jolted at the thought. The memory became more clear. It had been Keith who had been thrown into this small space with him. The Red Paladin had been running down the opposite side of the hall, most likely to make sure he was okay.

“Fuck,” Shiro huffed out as he listened to the small sounds coming from Keith. The younger wasn’t awake yet, and Shiro sincerely hoped he didn’t wake up until they were out of there. Keith and dark, small spaces pressed so close to him was going to be a disaster. And not of the sexy type, unfortunately.

Shiro knew of Keith’s past. He knew that Keith had never really liked cramped and dark places. Shiro suspected it had to be partly due to his Galra side. The guards had been wary whenever they approached a tight space, often going to great lengths to avoid them. 

But there was another reason this whole situation was terrible. 

“Mmm,” Keith mumbled softly under his breath, shifting again as Shiro froze. Now that Shiro was awake enough, he could tell that they were both upright, so close together that Shiro’s left hand was pressed to Keith’s chest, right beneath his arm. His other hand was by his side, unable to be moved upward any. Keith’s hands were much the same, except one hand was placed closer to Shiro’s hips. 

Keith was waking up.

Fuck.

“Keith?”

Another groan echoed in the enclosed space followed by a tiny sigh. Keith shifted again before he stopped, too unnaturally to have gone back to sleep. Shiro could feel the tension in the other even in the places he was tight against.

“Keith,” Shiro hoped he could get through to his best friend before anything happened, “It’s okay.”

Despite his words, Keith’s breath began to speed up. Small pants left his mouth like he was forcing himself not to be loud, but Shiro would have been able to hear regardless in such a small space.

Fuck.

“Keith,” he softened his voice but the other’s only picked up, “Keith. You’re with me, Shiro. Buddy. Come on, Keith.”

Like Shiro predicted, it only made it worse. Keith began thrashing around a bit, too stuck in his head to notice what was really happening. And Shiro couldn’t blame him, ready to kill someone when he got back to Earth. Maybe the others would help track the person dow-

“Stop,” Keith panted with a small cry, “Stop.”

Shiro winced as Keith’s breathing picked up even more. By now, the younger was trying everything to get out of the position they were in, but he wasn’t having any luck at all. Shiro felt his eyes burn as Keith let out a weak sob.

Shiro had to get him to settle down. He was going to injure himself.

“Keith,” he tried again as Keith sobbed again, “It’s not real, Keith! You’re with me. Keith.”

Keith slammed his head against the wall, letting a cry fall off his lips. Shiro could see the other's eyes were open wide with fear and panic, but he knew the younger wasn't actually seeing what was in front of him. That in itself told all anyone would need to know since Keith had excellent eyesight in the dark. Keith should have seen that Shiro was in front of him. 

But he couldn't. 

“St-stop,” he heaved out his breath unevenly as his face paled, sweat sliding down his skin, “Stop t-tou-ching m-me.”

Shiro's heart broke in half at the broken sentence. That's what he had been afraid of. This situation was too much like one of his foster homes. The foster father had been a creep, one who should have never been allowed to raise kids. 

Keith had told him about it a year into their friendship, in case he ever went into a panic attack while around Shiro. The cruel man had seemed like a nice guy at the time until Keith was sleeping. One night, the younger had woken up to the other touching him, running his hands over places Keith didn't like, even slipping them down onto his hips. Keith had fought to get away, but the man had stopped him by shoving him down onto the bed, blocking his face so he couldn't call out. After that, the man continued to grope the younger, hugging him close from behind.

When Keith told anyone, nobody believed him. No one: not the social worker, the police, and not even the man's boyfriend. Shiro's blood boiled when he had heard this.

It had gone on for such a long time that it was ingrained in the younger's mind sometimes, coming back with a vengeance. Shiro had remembered a time when the younger had had a nightmare the first week in the castle. Shiro had been sleeping when he could hear a thump on his wall, knowing it was connected to Keith's. Rushing from his room, he had entered Keith's to see him whimpering and crying in his sleep, sheets thrown around hastily, trapping his legs and an arm. The younger had been curled up in a ball, knees to his chest. 

It had taken him nearly five full minutes to wake the frightened friend. 

They didn't have that kind of time right now.

“Keith,” Shiro's voice shook as he brought his flesh hand up to the other's cheek. Keith flinched back violently, pushing himself back roughly. He didn't move much, since he couldn't. 

By now, he was shaking rapidly like it was freezing cold in the room, which was hot and growing more sticky. Even Shiro could feel the air becoming more difficult to breathe. The younger was begging still, calling out things that shredded his soul apart. Shiro could tell his knee was trying to drive upwards to put distance between them, but it wasn't working, only adding to the panic.

“Please,” Keith panted as he let out a hoarse scream, “Stop it! Stop touching mestoptouchingmestopshirohelp-”

“Keith!” Shiro shouted as he placed his hand on the younger's shoulder, right where he always did, “Keith! I'm here! It's not real! Wake up!”

Keith all but collapsed on him, making Shiro grunt at the unexpected impact. Shiro caught the younger as best he could, holding him loosely and making sure his hands weren't anywhere inappropriate.

“That's it, Keith,” Shiro encouraged the younger, “You're okay. Come on, Keith.”

It took a moment, but Keith eventually moved his head the slightest, most likely more aware now. He wasn't breathing harshly anymore nor was he panicking. His eyes slowly found Shiro's, exhausted and dead.

“Sh'r,” he asked softly as his voice broke weakly, “W'at?”

“You had a panic attack,” Shiro explained as he rubbed the other's back gently, “Save your energy. The others will be here soon.”

“Sh'ro,” Keith's hand gripped his hip uncomfortably, the younger not noting the older's wince, “Sca'ed.”

“I know,” he wrapped him up tightly, “We're going to be okay.”

“I'm so'y,” Keith's voice cracked before completely disappearing, unable to be used anymore. Shiro only held him harder, bringing his hand to the back of his head, tipping it down.

“It wasn't your fault,” Shiro reassured as he glared at the wall, wondering where the hell the others were, “It was not your fault.”

Keith's fingers continued to dig into the older's hip, trying to ground himself to his surroundings. Shiro let him, knowing he needed it. What were a few bruises compared to what Keith had to be feeling? He had been in Keith's shoes, so he knew exactly what it was like.

He'd take the bruises over that any day. 

Shiro just rubbed Keith's neck in a comforting manner, running his fingers through silky ebony hair. The younger painstakingly slowly melted under his touch, relaxing a bit more as time went on. Soon, he was leaning against the older, head on his shoulder. Shiro could feel tears soaking into the collar of his undersuit but he didn't hear a sound.

“It's okay,” he reassured softly as the other gripped him tighter, wrapping around him, “It's okay.”

…..

“I want to stop feeling like this,” Keith's voice interrupted Shiro as he entered another sentence into the datapad. The older glanced up, seeing Keith staring over at him with a flat look. The one Keith always got after his memories caught up with him. 

“You had another attack,” it wasn't a question. Ever since they had been rescued by their friends, Keith's flashbacks and panic attacks were rearing their ugly heads. 

Keith didn't respond. 

That was all Shiro needed.

“I have a way to help,” Shiro smiled softly before he became concerned, “But it'll be slow, and we'll have to take our time.”

“Just do it.”

“Okay,” Shiro nodded before moving closer to Keith, just feet from him. Waiting for the other to indicate that he was okay with what Shiro was going to do, the older placed his hand right on his shoulder and neck. At first, Keith tensed up but soon enough, he relaxed against the touch.

“I'm going to get you used to good touch again,” Shiro reassured him with a small brush of his thumb, “Being alone out in the desert didn't help either. I know you are touch-starved, Keith.”

“You too,” Keith stared him down, making Shiro pause for a moment, “Maybe this will help you too. Good touch, right?”

Shiro smiled fondly. Keith was more observant than anyone gave him credit. Shiro had never told him about his time with the Galra, but the younger already knew he had been hurt by touch. They weren't so different. 

“Yeah,” Shiro nodded as he carefully ran his thumb over a sensitive spot on Keith's neck, earning a happy sigh from the other, “But we'll have to tell the other when it becomes too uncomfortable. The goal isn't to trigger bad memories, but create new better ones.”

“Okay,” Keith leaned closer to his hand, shoulder brushing Shiro's chest, “Let's do this. I trust you, Shiro.”

…..

So that's what they did. Every day, Shiro made sure to place his hands on the other in comforting ways. Sometimes it was a pat on the back, other times a full hug, if the day was good enough. Every time he began, Keith flinched back like he was expecting to be slapped or hurt. But Shiro had noticed that over time, Keith wasn't doing that so much anymore. 

The touches grew to multiple times a day, sometimes where Shiro would leave his hand on Keith for hours. Other times, the two were pressed side-by-side to each other. 

By this point, they were getting weird looks from the others. They no doubt were curious about why Shiro and Keith were even more touchy than usual. Shiro left it alone though. He wouldn't tell Keith's secret. Besides, it was helping. Both of them were becoming more at ease with touch than before. Whenever one had a rough day, the other waited for them to initiate contact. 

Their touching must have caught on to the others because they were touching Shiro and Keith more often. Just little things like high-fives, side hugs, shoulder bumps, handshakes, and so on. They gave a bit more contact to Shiro, probably figuring that Keith didn't like the touching. Shiro had to laugh at the pout on the younger's face when that happened, before he pulled the other into a tight hug. Keith loved touch more than he did, and needed it more.

Then there had been that awkward moment when Keith had been sleeping on the couch in the lounge. Both Pidge and Shiro were in the room too, having just arrived. The Green Paladin raised a brow, confused because she had never seen the other sleep out in another area where others could go. As she looked back at Shiro, the older shrugged while still staring at Keith. The youngest had eventually placed her hand on Keith’s neck, unknowingly setting of an interesting interaction. Keith had practically chased after the touch, pressing into Pidge’s hand and mumbling something that rumbled off into a deep sigh of contentment. The youngest’s eyes were so wide that Shiro had to place his hand in front of his face to stop that laugh that would surely wake Keith.

After that, Pidge gotten in on the game. She would touch Keith more. Hug him often. Or just punch his shoulder lightly. And Keith responded back with smaller touches to Pidge, and hugging her back. All these little things helped the Red Paladin, and Shiro was happy.

“Shiro,” Keith’s voice rang out as a knock pounded on his door. It was late, and the younger should have been asleep, “Can I...Can I come in?”

Shiro knew that tone of voice. It was a repeat of what he had seen months ago, and what had been fading over time. Keith had had a nightmare again.

“Come in, Keith,” Shiro sat up on his bed, pushing his blanket aside, and making room for the younger. Said man stared at him with wide eyes before he came closer, edging towards the bed as if he were scared to even be in Shiro's room. The older felt his heart break all over again, "Sit. You look like you could use a hug."

"I…" Keith paused before nodding, "A hug sounds...sounds good...now."

Shiro waited for Keith to settle down in his spot next to him before he carefully wrapped the younger man up in his arms. Keith rested his head on his chest, the longer black strands tickling Shiro's neck. They both rested in the bed on their side, just relaxing under the light blanket. Shiro was just beginning to drift off when Keith brushed his hand against his thigh, catching Shiro's attention. 

"I…" Keith seemed to freeze, mind unsure as he stared up at Shiro, "I...want to do something...but I don't think...you want to?"

"Depends," Shiro smiled fondly as Keith glanced back at him with weary eyes, "I'm always here for you. You can always ask whatever you want, you know?"

"Yeah," Keith whispered before he stared downward at...Shiro's lips, "I know. I was thinking...that I wanted to kiss you."

"Oh, yeah, sure," Shiro nodded before his mind caught up to what Keith had said. Oh. _Oh,_ "Wait, what?"

"I knew you wouldn't," Keith mumbled softly with flushed cheeks before he buried his head back down on Shiro's chest and hugged him tighter, "Just forget it."

"Keith," Shiro frowned softly when the other only buried his head lower. Softly tilting his head back up, Shiro stared into eyes brimming with fear, uncertainty, and tears, "Keith. I...You don't need to feel ashamed. I…"

Shiro sighed. He was never planning on telling Keith this, but he must as well now, since the younger seemed just as interested in him as he was in Keith.

"Yes," Shiro nodded as Keith's eyes widened in shock, confusion in those dark beautiful eyes as he lifted his head up, "You can kiss me. Anything you want, I want too."

"I…" Keith tilted his head, "What?"

"We've been spending more time together, and I uhhh…" Shiro blushed while rubbing his undercut, Galra arm cool to the touch, "Want to kiss you too."

Keith blinked owlishly before leaning up with his chin. He paused at the last second, eyes closed. Shiro snorted silently before he pressed down the rest of the way, placing his lips to his best friend's. A tiny groan left Keith's throat as Shiro hummed happily. A moment passed as they broke apart. Shiro gently rubbed Keith's side while resting his forehead against the other's. Keith gazed back with smiling eyes and a soft upturned lip.

"Is this okay?" Shiro whispered softly. Keith nodded before grinning sweetly. Before Shiro could say anything else, Keith licked his bottom lip, getting a shocked but heated gasp from him. A spark ran through Shiro's blood at the contact, "Ke...ith!"

"Heh," Keith smirked before kissing him harder. Shiro sighed softly as the smaller pressed closer, lean but strong muscled stomach pressed to his side. A long moan rolled from Keith's lips when Shiro brushed his thumb along one nipple underneath his shirt. Keith shivered with want before his hand gripped the hand pressed to his chest, making Shiro pause. 

Worry flared through him.

"What…" Keith swallowed thickly as he pressed his stomach up to Shiro's-since when did they slide over so Shiro was on top of Keith? "What are we?"

"Uhhh…" Shiro scowled softly before he smiled, "If you want to...we could be...together?"

"Together?" Keith tilted his head curiously like a cat as warmth spiraled in Shiro's chest, "I like that."

"Me too," Shiro smirked happily, pulling the younger closer, nipping at his ear, "Me too, baby."


End file.
